Product Junky, Who? Your Hair Needs A Routine!

Okay, so you’re a new natural and I get it—you want to try every product on the shelves!

Don’t do it! Don’t do it! Don’t do it!

What you want to do is try to learn about your hair before buying a random product or something you’re not familiar with. I know what you’re thinking – Well, how do you get familiar without buying every product at your local hair store? It’s a good idea to learn about your hair type and what that means first, before going into the stores. Most curly/kinky haired people fall into two categories on the Hair Type Chart and that is a 3 or 4. The 3’s are curly-kinky and the 4’s are kinky-curly. Once you know what hair type you have, the next important piece of the puzzle is knowing how dense your hair is. Knowing your hair type will tell you what products to use or try out and knowing your hair’s density will allow you to understand how much product to apply to your hair.

So you’ve done your homework and you know your hair type and density! This isn’t actually the end of it, as every product won’t work in the same way for everyone. This is where the trial and error comes in. To save yourself some time, money, and grief, I recommend speaking to your local hair stylist who has experience with different textures, asking people you know with your hair type or searching for Bloggers or YouTube natural hair enthusiasts, who have your hair type. Those would be the best people to contact to learn more. Another good idea is attending hair events or meet-ups in your area. You can learn by speaking to others at the event, including any presenters. Another bonus is that some of these events also designate a time for a product swap to take place or you can always create your own product swap meet-up event.

Once you have done all of this and have figured out what works, you are well on your way to happy beginnings. The most important job you have as a natural is developing a routine for your hair. Once you have the basics down, which is having a shampoo, conditioner, oil, and leave-in product that work well for your hair type and density, you can breathe a lot easily. Once you get to this point, no one says you can’t try out a new product. As the foundation is there, introducing a new product, won’t be as painful as changing all your products, all at once, all of the time. Introducing a new product, after developing a routine, is also a good way to know what’s working for your hair.

Whether you’re a new natural or you have been for years – have fun with your hair and enjoy all it has to offer you! Natural Hair Doesn’t have to be that Tricky!